Big 12 Basketball: Buy or sell Kansas, Iowa State, Baylor, Texas and TCU?
West Virginia Mountaineers
The Mountaineers started out Big 12 Basketball play at 0-5, with four of the losses coming down to the final minute. They’ve shown that they’re competitive but have been lacking the firepower on the perimeter to win games. Erik Stevenson was leading the team in scoring through the non-conference but has seen his numbers take a big decline, just 11 ppg on 29% shooting from the field.
The good news is that others have started to emerge, including Kedrian Johnson and Joe Toussaint, who had 22 points off the bench in the team’s recent 76-61 win over Texas Tech. But the team’s best player is clearly Tre Mitchell, who has become a consistent double-digit scorer and a key interior presence inside for the team.
Even when they were struggling, the numbers and metrics still love West Virginia. They have a top 30 NET ranking and no losses outside of Quad 1. And non-conference wins over Florida and Pittsburgh have been good for their resume.
This is a flawed team that needs to find guard production. But with no chance of having any Quad 3 or 4 losses going forward, they just have to find a few more Big 12 wins to warrant an at-large bid. I think they’re capable of doing that, which is why I buy their chances.
Buy